Part 19: A day trip to the Island of Chios, Greece

Let me quickly set the record straight from the beginning: this chapter is not actually from this particular trip I made last Summer but from a visit to the island some 4-5 years back in springtime. Yet as it is located so close to Izmir and I never wrote a trip report about it, I still wanted to share my thoughts on the island as it might be of useful information for travellers visiting the region. I can thoroughly recommend anyone to visit this beautiful island – whether it is just for one day when staying in Turkey or part of an island-hopping itinerary around Greece. The island is delightfully out of the main tourist routes in the region and has an unique local character making it a must-visit.

I departed Izmir by morning bus to the city of Cesme from where there are about 2-3 ferries a day departing to Chios. I took the morning ferry around 8am – arriving about an hour or so later in Chios. Daytrippers from Turkey can spend a full day on the island before taking the ferry back to Cesme in the early evening (although on this particular trip I continued in the evening by overnight ferry to Piraeus, which is the port city serving the Greek capital of Athens).

Cesme-Chios is a busy ferry route which is popular with Turks, Greeks and foreign tourists alike – although all have different reasons to make the crossing. For Turks the main reason to cross is simply to have a nice day out and to have some seafood and wine/ouzo dinner – which generally is cheaper on Chios than in Turkey due to the higher taxes on alcohol Turkey and generally more expensive prices for quality seafood (although due to the devaluation of the Turkish Lira last year this has changed, making Turkish alcohol about as cheap for tourist and Greece very expensive for Turks).

Tickets can be bought both in the port of Cesme as well as at ticket offices in Izmir for those who want to buy it a day or two in advance – check the websites of the particular ferry operators for addresses. On this journey I travelled with Erturk on a small ferry which had the place for a few cars and perhaps around 100 passengers.



The ferry has a small cafe on board if you want a coffee or a drink and seats both inside and outside. Naturally, I opted for a seat outside to take in the scenery. It always gives me a kick when I approach a new Greek island by ferry.





Upon arrival in Chios Town I walked to one of the car rental agencies in the port. I didn't reserve in advance as I didn't deem it necessary out of season. I easily managed to secure a small hatchback for 25 EUR for a full day including all insurances and unlimited mileage.



I skipped Chios Town itself as my plan was to have a leisurely loop around the island. This was more or less the route I took, with a planned distance of 103 kilometres which would take 2 hours and 33 minutes according to Google Maps (quite a correct estimate as the island is mountainous!).



Stop number one on the tour was the Nea Moni monastery. The road from Chios to the monastery takes you through some spectacular landscapes.



Nea Moni (Greek for new monastery) is not exactly new as it was built in the 11th-century. It is a constructed on lovely shady grounds in between the trees and known for its mosaics and murals which earned it UNESCO World Heritage status. Yet perhaps the monastery is most famous from events which took place in 1822 when Ottoman troops stormed the monastery during the Greek War of Independence. The Ottomans set fire to the monastery where 2,000 locals were hiding from the war. They burned alive – and the monastery itself was almost completely burned down and never recovered its former glory. An earthquake some decades later also contributed to its decline.

To commemorate the massacre the locals stored the skulls inside the monastery for public viewing – which for sure is harrowing to see.







Just a few kilometres from Nea Moni is the hilltop village of Avgonyma – which makes for a nice stroll or a coffee break at the central plaza. It might not look much on approach due to the bare scenery and fortress like structure of the houses, but once inside the village it is actually quite a cute place to stop for a while.







After a quick freddo espresso (iced espresso Greek style - no country does coffee better than the Greeks - please don't kill me for this dear Italians) I continued my drive to the western coast of Chios, which is much wilder in its character than the eastern coast.





It being spring, there were gorgeous wildflowers all over the place. Forget about summers in Greece really, spring or autumn are the times you want to visit the place! Greece is not overcrowded yet with tourists but still with enough local live to make it lively and fun, prices are lower, you have the wildflowers in spring on all islands, the wine harvest in early autumn, in mid-autumn the mainland mountains has tree foliage that almost shames New England in its beautiful colours, the weather in both spring and autumn is still warm but not unbearably hot. And if you don't visit too early in spring you can perfectly swim in the waters and enjoy the beaches.









At Limenas, a tiny village and Chios' secondary port on the western coast which occasionally sees the odd ferry depart for other Greek islands, I stopped for another coffee at a local taverna. It being Greece it had of course dozens of cute cats waiting at the tables hoping for people to share their meals with them! There weren't any tourists at all whatsoever late April what I could discover – only here at Limenas did I hear some people speaking French. For the rest it was only Greek what I heard. That said, in summer there are 2 or 3 or so daily charter flights to the Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia – but that is such a small amount paling in comparison to touristy islands that even then you would hardly notice foreign tourists around what I think..!



From Limenas I continued to the so-called Mastihohória – the mastic producing villages of southern Chios. As I wrote in the previous chapter, the island of Chios and the area across Cesme in Turkey across the narrow strait are known for the production of mastic – a resin obtained from the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus). It is historically attributed with lots of health benefits and used in all kinds of produce as diverse as soap, chewing gum, condiment in food or drinks – literally almost anything! It's bittersweet taste is absolutely delicious and I can especially recommend it in the local liquor (top tip: Aegean Airlines serves it in business class, and it is available at most of the Athens business class lounges).


Mastic trees found on Chios

Although not as spectacular as the western coast of Chios, there were also plenty of wildflowers and even an oh-so typical Greek donkey along the road here to keep me happy behind the steering wheel of the car.





There are a few mastic-producing villages on southern Chios. My first stop was the town of Mesta, which is an amazingly cute town to wander around with its flowers and covered passageways. All rooftops of the old town are connected with each other for defensive purposes against pirates/Ottomans, creating an amazing maze of alleyways and covered streets. I have visited hundreds of places in Greece but Mesta certainly ranks among the top 5 towns I've seen. I will let the pictures do the talking here.





















Next up I visited the neighbouring town of Olimpi – which is similar in character as Mesta albeit much, much smaller. It had a very appealing restaurant (Amethystos) on its central square where I opted to stay for lunch. It was a great decision as the pork in orange sauce was absolutely mouth-watering delicious. Greek taverna food at its best. The beer was even complimentary!



(And yes, you can drink and drive in Greece. Technically it is not allowed but everyone does it and on islands there is no traffic police to begin with – especially if its just a glass or two with the food it does not do any harm as it is the local culture in this country where public transport is almost non-existent in most places. Just take common sense and know your own limit)

Next up was the last of the Mastic towns I would visit: Pyrgi. Pyrgi is the biggest and most famous of the mastic towns as it was the richest of them. You can easily see this back on the beautifully decorated mansions and houses in the town. It also has a handful of very appealing restaurants and cafes and is the regional hub of the south of the island, having a fair number of (boutique) hotels as well.









The last stop of the day was a place to take a quick dip to freshen up. With its black volcanic stones, Mavra Volia beach is perhaps the most famous of the entire island – making a picturesque last stop.



On the beach access road on the way back I picked up two hitch-hikers, two Greek girls doing a medical internship on Chios. As I had time anyway I opted to take a little detour to drop them off in Pyrgi where they wanted to go before heading back myself to Chios Town to return the rental.

I did not have time to explore Chios Town myself – but did manage to grab a nice last bite of fried calamari paired with some ouzo before hopping onto my ferry.



Whether it is part of an all-Greek island hopping itinerary or just a day trip from Turkey – I really can recommend Chios. Sure, it doesn't have the best beaches – but it has so much unique culture, history and local flavour that it makes it truly standout among the other Greek islands. Go and visit!